Grave Robber formed in 2005. They're influenced by heavy metal just as much as punk and that becomes pretty obvious almost straight away.

They have a very heavy sound with punk style shouting yet it's oddly likable even though it becomes fairly exhaustive by the end of the album. 'Be Afraid' certainly won't be to everybody's tastes but there are some catchy tracks like 'Bloodbath.'

If you can imagine a mix of Rob Zombie and The Clash then you'll get the picture. Occasionally the shouting style vocals get a bit irritating and if they focused on melody more then speed they'd have a better album. Perhaps that's just the style they crave for.

The Rob Zombie influence is evident in the song titles: 'The Exorcist,' 'I Zombie' and 'I Wanna Kill You Over And Over Again.' Supposedly there are lots of religious references in the lyrics but unless you actually read the lyrics you won't get it just by listening to the songs.

It's gothic hard rock that's entertaining but I suspect the band take themselves more seriously than anybody else would. If you like bands like Lordi, you'll dig Grave Robber (pun intended!)

**½

Review by Neil Daniels

www.neildaniels.com